Odisha govt likely to reduce bus fare

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 20:

The Odisha government is most likely to reduce the bus fare in the state.

Sources in the Transport department said that the bus fare is likely to be reduced to 2 paisa per km for ordinary buses and up to 4, 5 and 6 paisa per km for express, deluxe and AC deluxe buses respectively following continuous fall in the diesel price in last two months.

The Technical Advisory Committee of Transport department had a discussion in this regard at an emergency meeting, presided over by the Transport commissioner, here on Friday.

However, the exact amount of reduction could not be finalized.

The Committee decided that it will recommend the state government for reduction of bus fare. Besides, it will keep track of changes in diesel price, monitor the bus fare and accordingly recommend the state government, which, in turn, will take a final call.

Present at the meeting, financial advisors of the state government and the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), and representatives of State Transport Authority (STA) All Odisha Private Bus Owners Association agreed that the bus fare can be reduced further if the prices of tires, tubes, flaps, mechanical equipments, insurance and taxes are brought down along with diesel prices.

The government has assured to review the prices after it receives the recommendation of the technical committee and announce the new fare in a couple of days, sources in the Transport department said.

It may be noted that though the diesels prices have come down to Rs 9.17 in the last two months, the bus fare has been reduced to a meagre 2 paisa per km in two phases.